US trial lawyer says Meta, YouTube 'engineered addiction' in childrenLOS ANGELES (UNITED STATES) - Meta and Google-owned YouTube "engineered addiction" in children, a lawyer for the plaintiff said on Monday as a landmark trial on the effects of social media on minors began in earnest in a California court. "This case is about two of the richest corporations in history who have engineered addiction in children's brains," the attorney, Mark Lanier, told the jury in his opening statement. The Los Angeles trial before Judge Carolyn Kuhl focuses on allegations that a 20-year-old woman identified as Kayley G.M. suffered severe mental harm because she became addicted to social media as a child. The lawyer described Instagram as an "endless feed" of people's "filtered lives" where users "spend time waiting for social validation."

Source: Bangkok Post February 09, 2026 21:57 UTC